


Taking Chances

by missrhondalee



Category: Laverne & Shirley (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, New York City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29710047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrhondalee/pseuds/missrhondalee
Summary: Carmine and Laverne finally decide to give it a chance but not everything goes according to plan.
Relationships: Laverne DeFazio/Carmine Ragusa
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Taking Chances

**Author's Note:**

> although this work is *only* 3,500+ words, it truly felt like 15,000 when i was editing it LOL jfc

Laverne winced stretching her sore muscles as the bus finally reached its destination. She was in New York at last and she'd thought traveling to Burbank from Milwaukee had been tough. Traveling on your own cross country on a packed bus with barely functioning air conditioning during the middle of July no less was something else entirely. At least the last time she'd traveled like this, she'd been with her friends and if you eliminated that disastrous night at the Royal Cactus from the trip, it had overall been quite pleasant and most importantly, she had had someone to talk to. The last time she'd kept quiet this long was when she'd spent a few days at a convent last year. Again, not one of her finest moments. Finding herself cringing at the memories during the first half of the journey, Laverne had decided to only focus on the present instead for the remaining of the trip. What was the point of dwelling on the past anyway? You couldn't change it.

Despite being unable to shower or eat a decent meal, hell even going to the bathroom privately had been a challenge. The door was anything but soundproof and she knew she was going to have nightmares about the sounds she wished she could erase from her mind, thinking about Carmine had kept her spirits up. He was the reason she was here after all. It all began a week ago when Laverne called him in the middle of the night. She had yet again found herself unable to sleep staring at the ceiling thinking about her nonexistent love life for the last three months and realized the reason she'd been single all this time, hell she'd even failed to get one date which was very unlike her in general, was because she was unable to move on from Carmine's last few months in California with her.

Ever since Shirley married Walter, their lives pretty much turned to shit and that was an understatement. Shirley had done something with her life, she made her dreams come true. Once the resentment of her sudden departure and the somewhat jealousy had toned-down, Laverne began making her peace with the fact that that part of her life was over. Although Carmine appeared to have taken the news of her wedding rather well, Laverne soon realized appearances could be deceiving. If she was feeling crummy because even though the jealousy had stopped, she was still quite depressed about her best friend abandoning her, it was nothing compared to his crippling anxiety and loneliness. Carmine tried to hide how he felt but failed rather miserably and she found out the hard way when he showed up drunk on her doorstep one evening. Now that hadn't been one of his proudest moments, even more when he ended up throwing up all over Laverne's kitchen floor but since that night their friendship changed. She'd seen him at his worst only for the roles to be literally reversed just one short week later when _she_ showed up inebriated on _his_ doorstep.

After swearing off drinking forever, or at least until their mutual dark thoughts would stop clouding their judgments, Carmine and Laverne relied on each other finding comfort in one another whenever they could. So much so in fact that one evening it led them to cross a line they hadn't in over fifteen years. It had been exactly a month since Shirley walked out on them and knowing they wouldn't be able to face the evening on their own without getting hammered, Carmine offered to take her to the cinema to distract them both. During the entire movie, their hands touched whenever they'd reached for the popcorn at the same time and despite trying their best to ignore it, their control finally slipped when they got home. They were all over each other the second they walked into her apartment only managing to stop when they'd reached her bedroom. Carmine's lucidity had miraculously returned just as Laverne was undoing his pants. The momentary slip up although understandable after everything they'd been through had been awkward to say the least. Nevertheless, they'd managed to get past it and for the following weeks, their friendship resumed as if nothing had happened. It was the second time their control slipped that fucked everything up.

The first time had perhaps been an accident, an error in judgment. They were only human after all. But twice? Even they knew it meant that there was something more, that there was definitely feelings involved but every time Laverne hinted at a possible relationship with him, Carmine would always find plausible excuses why they couldn't. Such as their friendship was too important to mess up and she couldn't argue with that. Their friendship was literally the reason that had kept them from drowning emotionally. So to avoid their control to slip a third and most likely last time before it would be too late to stop it, therefore risk getting hurt which was something neither could have handled at the time, he'd suggested they stop hanging out together so much.

Next thing she knew, Carmine was moving to New York and their possible fling vanished into thin air. Not to sink back into the depression she'd miraculously managed to get out of, Laverne reassured herself that perhaps she'd seen too much into it and they were meant to be just friends. There was a reason it hadn't worked out between them all these years ago, maybe Carmine putting a stop to it before it got out of hand was the universe's way of reminding them.

It was only when Laverne found herself still unable to sleep at night thinking about him three entire months after he'd moved to the other side of the country that she realized it had been a mistake not to go for it and she'd told Carmine that last Thursday night around two thirty as she watched the ticking seconds pass by on the clock on her bedside table. The fact that Carmine was welcoming her with open arms as she clumsily stepped off the bus with her luggage rolling behind her proved he wanted this too.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she accepted the hug. If Laverne was relieved to finally be here, Carmine was relieved to see she was all right. It was quite a long way from LA and he knew it even better than her, having made the exact same trip just three months ago. Although she'd managed to call from a phone booth somewhere in Missouri when they had to stop for gas, it still hadn't been enough to reassure him completely. She'd have called him more often but she wasn't the only passenger wanting to make phone calls. Carmine wasn't the only one worried about her though, Rhonda was too. She and Laverne had somehow become good friends over the years and although she was still her very egocentric self, she cared about Laverne's well being and still warned her that she might be setting herself up for disappointment. Although Carmine and Laverne had tried keeping their almost fling or whatever attraction they had for each other to themselves, Rhonda was no idiot and saw right through them. Surely, those couldn't be just coincidences that Carmine was in Laverne's apartment whenever she would visit. Wherever Laverne was, he was too. Rhonda just put two and two together. Not that she cared about other people's love lives but at the time however, she'd wondered how long it would take them before they'd finally go through with it and sleep together already and she was somewhat disappointed when nothing happened in the end.

Since it hadn't happened then, she had high doubts about it happening now three months later so trying to be a good friend, she told Laverne to be careful but Rhonda's good intentions were disappearing from Laverne's mind as Carmine stood before her looking as excited to see her as she was to see him.

“You made it! I hope the journey wasn't too unpleasant.”

“Well, except for the guy I was sitting next to who kept digging into my stash of scooter pies whenever I wasn't looking and then wouldn't stop snoring every time he dozed off, I managed to survive.”

Carmine laughed when she mentioned the disgusting noises coming from the toilet and how gross she felt from not showering for two days. “Trust me. If I can get through that, I think I can get through anything.”

“What about Frank, does he really not know that you're here?” her father was also one of the reasons they couldn't go through with it back in LA. They both knew he wouldn't have approved, even more when Carmine had dated Shirley for so many years.

She shook her head, “You know how he is.” now honestly, she felt bad for lying to her pop but she wasn't ready to tell him yet and Rhonda swore she wouldn't say anything either. “He thinks I went on another retreat in the mountains. Remember the one I went on last year then it started raining.”

She sighed contently, wrapping her arms around his waist. “We're really doing this, huh?”

He winked seductively, “We sure are.”

****

Carmine collapsed by her as they panted heavily, both struggling to catch their breath. “Fuck. That was amazing.”

“You can say that again. Who knew you had it in ya. That was probably your body's way of showing gratitude for not having to take yet another cold shower for once.” now Carmine surely didn't miss those. He didn't miss the astronomical water bills either.

Carmine chuckled,“I missed you, Laverne.”

She elbowed him playfully, “I bet.”

They laughed now as she snuggled up against him. From the moment she stepped off the bus until now, every minute had felt somewhat special, magical even. After a well-deserved shower, which she kinda ended up using up all her shampoo at once, and changing into the only dress she'd somehow packed, he took her to the Italian place around the corner. They sat at a corner booth and barely made it to the entree when he felt her foot teasing him underneath the table. Carmine knew they had to get out of there when her fingers fumbled with his zipper. Using one of the bathroom stalls had crossed his mind but Carmine actually liked this place and he knew he would never be able to eat here again if the owner kicked them out. So they went back to his place and since they'd barely eaten anything, they were starving now. Carmine laughed again hearing her stomach growl.

“How about something to eat?”

“I'd love that.”

“Unless you want to jump my bones again?” he suggested tentatively.

“Ha ha.”

They got out of bed at the same time. He let her wear his shirt while he put his pants back on. “Lasagna with a glass of Chianti?”

“You read my mind.”

There was a knock at the door just as Laverne disappeared into his bathroom. Carmine wondered who it could be at this hour. His heart started racing at the sight of the familiar blonde standing before him. His girlfriend decided to show up on his doorstep out of the blue and she chose tonight of all nights to do it.

“Diana!” he exclaimed then stammered lowering his voice, “What, what are you doing here?”

“I know you said you were busy this week catching up with an old friend and everything but my shift just ended and I thought I could surprise you and perhaps join you guys. Look.” she showed him the takeout she brought from work then she pouted. “I didn't come empty handed. I even brought those muffins you like-”

Carmine panicked, color draining from his face. “That was very nice of you but it's not a good ti-”

Diana giggled, “You're all sweaty. Did you just work out? Kind of turns me on.” Carmine knew shit was about to hit the fan when he was unable to stop Diana from kissing him just as he heard the bathroom doorknob turn. Laverne was going to come out in any second and he found himself unable to move literally paralyzed with fear. “Hey, Carmine. You're out of toil-”

The presence of someone else in the apartment startled both women simultaneously.

“Who's this?” Laverne and Diana asked Carmine at the same time.

To say there was awkwardness in the air would be the fucking understatement of the century. Was it too late to wish for death to come and get him?

“What's going on here?”

Diana frowned, “Wait. Is she wearing your shirt?”

Laverne shook her head refusing to believe that life would screw her like that once again. She'd been the other woman god knows how many times because she somehow always ended up dating married losers but never in a million years would she have imagined ending up in a similar situation with Carmine. Her own best friend stabbing her in the back? Now she knew the Lord couldn't be this cruel.

Laverne's lower lip trembled. “Is that her lipstick on your cheek?”

“It's not what you thi-” he tried explaining but Diana punched him before he could utter one more word.

“What the hell? Catching up with an old friend, huh?”

Her fury caught Carmine off guard and so did her fist in his face. The woman could clearly throw a punch and he wished he'd have found out before tonight. Carmine barely had time to blink that she kicked him in the shin and Laverne heard him groan in pain as Diana stormed out. “Fuck!”

If he just found out Diana could beat him up, he knew Laverne could too and he failed to stop her as she came right at him. “You slimy, two timi-”

She was uncontrollable, hitting him and pulling on his hair. He finally managed to get her off of him long, interminable minutes later. She'd pulled on his hair so hard she had a lock of it in her hand!

Carmine panted heavily getting back on his feet, “It's not what you think!” he defended himself as she glared at him so intensely it quite frankly terrified him. He's known her all his life and he had never seen her so angry before.“It's not what you think.” he repeated, rubbing the spot where she'd ripped his hair.

“Really? That wasn't your girlfriend?”

Laverne started crying when he admitted it and his heart sank at how upset she looked.“We planned my coming here together. You wanted this too.”

She brought her trembling hands up to her face, “Oh, my god. How could I have been so stupid to believe this could be real-”

“It is real. I want to be with you-”

She refused to listen, feeling so incredibly hurt she had trouble breathing now. Shirley leaving the way she had had felt like betrayal but this hurt a hundred times worse. “Rhonda was right. She warned me-”

“Right about what? This isn't at all what you think. You've got to listen-” he was practically begging her now.

“I'm such an idiot-” the only consolation she had was that at least her pop didn't know about this therefore it would be one less humiliation to endure. Right now all she wanted was to literally crawl into a hole and die. Laverne's anxiety was at its maximum and although tears were blurring her vision she managed to locate and then gather her scattered clothes off the floor. He tried grabbing her arm so she would stop moving around so much and listen to him for just a goddamn second but she wouldn't let him.

“Don't touch me!”

She threw his shirt back in his face. He was desperate for her to listen so much that he was yelling at her now although that was the last thing Carmine wanted. “You got it all wrong!”

She clumsily put her dress back on. “The second I saw you getting off that bus I knew I wanted this-” he began but she interrupted him.

“So until then you still weren't sure about us? Is this why you didn't break things off with your girlfriend? Was she a backup plan in case things between us wouldn't work, what?”

“What? No!”

Carmine panicked watching her put her shoes on and grabbing her luggage. This couldn't be happening. How could it have gone from heaven to hell in less than twenty minutes?

“You said you wanted to give us a chance! You lied to me!” she sobbed now and her voice was barely audible anymore, “You were lying to me this whole time.”

Carmine followed her running as she stormed out of his apartment. “Wait. Where are you going? You have no other place to go-”

He managed to stop her and he was grateful when she didn't shake him off again. “Laverne, you've got to listen to me. I'm begging you now. Please.” he was seconds from literally being on his knees.

“You didn't let me finish.” his body went into total panic earlier which caused him to be unable to phrase what he wanted to say correctly and then she interrupted him altogether.

“I swear to you, it's not what you think. I didn't lie. I know how it looks but I've truly wanted to be with you this whole time too. When you were talking about a relationship months ago, I was feeling the same way but I didn't want to risk losing you, losing our friendship. That's the only reason why I didn't let us act on it in Burbank although trust me, I wanted it as much as you did.”

“But it's only when you got off the bus earlier that I realized how much of a mistake it had been to refrain ourselves then. I was so happy when you called me the other night.”

Although those words were what she'd wanted to hear all along, she still wasn't believing him because if this was how he felt then why did he have a girlfriend? “Why should I believe you? You had a girlfriend all this time-”

“I had to move on, didn't I? What other choice did I have, what if I never saw you again?”

“I didn't break up with Diana because I knew she was just a rebound to me and I already felt terrible for using her. So I was going to wait and find a way to break things off without hurting her too much. But then she showed up and hell literally broke loose.”

There was a pause and Laverne was still a bit upset despite knowing the truth now and was still avoiding his gaze.

He tried looking into her eyes. “Come on. You're going to tell me you didn't date anyone since my leaving?”

“I didn't!”

“Now come on, you didn't try? Not even once?”

There was another pause, shorter than the last and she rolled her eyes admitting it. “Yeah, okay. I tried but unlike you, I failed.”

Sniffling, she wiped her tears and then..shoved him for putting her through this hell of an emotional rollercoaster. Laverne shoving him startled Carmine so much that he lost his balance and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Laverne gasped loudly as she saw him bump his head.

She was on her knees immediately. “Shit. Are you okay? I'm sorry.”

She apologized again as he sat up then moved to lean against the wall for a bit. Between Diana punching him in the face then kicking him and Laverne unleashing her fury earlier and now this, Carmine was sore all over. Even his eyebrows hurt at this point.

She sat beside him. “I'm sorry.”

“That's okay.” Carmine stretched his arm wincing as he did so. “Fuck.”

“I want to be with you.” he said, holding her hand. “I'm just sorry it took three months but I'm not sorry I left LA. I never liked it there.”

“So, what happens now?” she asked now, “Even I know long distance relationships don't work. Look at me and Shirl.” Laverne mentioned moving here. She was talking about perhaps a trial period of six months first and then extending it indefinitely.

“What about Frank? He doesn't even know you're here.” Carmine reminded her and Laverne whined making a face. She really wasn't ready to face him but didn't have a choice now. “There's gonna be some yelling, I know.” even she knew that was a major understatement, there was going to be _a lot_ of yelling.

“But we gotta try, don't we? I don't want to spend my entire life wondering.” those last three months had been hard enough.

“Just promise me one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“We'll always be friends no matter what happens between us. I can't afford to lose you.” Carmine knew he'd come close earlier and he was still shaken up about it all.

Laverne rested her head on his shoulder now. “Carmine?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you sleep with her?”

“Does it matter?” he was starting to get all fired up again thinking she was picking a fight. “Why would y-”

She reassured him it wasn't about that. “What I meant was...was she better than me?” Laverne knew it was silly but she was feeling insecure about this. If guys constantly worried about measuring up, why couldn't women too?

Carmine chuckled, “Feeling competitive, are we? I like that.”

She elbowed him in the ribs then giggled hearing him groan.

“How about some make up sex now?” she winked seductively, “We earned it. Would you be.. _up_ for it?”

Carmine laughed again, “Only if you're gentle with me. I'm hurt.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “It's a deal.”


End file.
